t 


A  NV 


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POKTO  RICO 


Porto  Rico 


Information  in  Regard  to  the  Island  and  Our  Church  Work  Theie 

BY  THE  RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  H.  VAN  BUREN,  D.D. 

Missionary  Bishop 


D)STANgE?. 

N.Y.  to  HAVANA . I  IQOm. 

,,  to  PUERTORICO  . .  .  I580n,, 


Location  and  History 

AN  JUAN,  the  capital  city  of 
Porto  Rico,  situated  on  the 
north  coast  of  the  island,  is  975 
miles  sontheast  of  the  city  of 
Havana,  Cuba,  and  1,380  miles  south  by 
east  from  New  York.  When  Columbus 
discovered  the  island  in  1493,  on  his  sec¬ 
ond  voyage,  he  gave  it  the  name  of  San 
Jnan.  The  harbor  where  now  the  city 
of  that  name  stands  was  called  Porto 
Rico — the  rich  harbor.  It  appears  that 
the  names  afterwards  became  confused 
in  some  State  papers,  and  were  allowed 
to  remain  so,  the  island  thereafter  being 
called  Porto  Rico,  and  the  city,  San 
Juan. 

Queen  Isabella  is  said  to  have  asked 
Columbus  to  give  her  a  description  of 
the  island,  and  in  reply,  it  is  related  that 
he  took  his  handkerchief,  crumpled  it 
up  and  threw  it  on  the  table,  saying,  “It 
looks  like  that.”  Whether  the  incident 
occurred  or  not,  a  better  description  of 
the  variegated  mountainous  view  that 
meets  the  eye  on  every  side  could  hard¬ 
ly  be  devised.  The  island  is  135  miles 
long  by  about  thirty  miles  in  breadth, 
and  is  almost  a  rectangle  in  shape,  its 
greatest  dimension  extending  from  east 
to  west.  It  contains  3,600  square  miles, 
being  three-quarters  the  size  of  Con¬ 
necticut. 

Inhabitants 

Copper-colored  Indians,  similar  to 
those  of  North  America,  lived  here  when 
Columbus  landed.  Many  of  the  Indians 
were  massacred  by  the  Spaniards  who 
took  possession  of  the  island;  negro 

(3) 


HAVANA  to  PUERTO  RICO. . .  900  m 


COLUMBUS  MONUMENT  AND  FORT  CRISTOBAL,  SAN  JUAN 


(4) 


VIEW  ON  THE  MILITARY  ROAD 


slaves  were  brought  here;  and  from  the 
Spanish,  the  negro  and  the  Indian  races 
the  present  population  is  descended. 
The  population  of  Porto  Rico,  by  the 
United  States  Census  of  1900,  is  953,- 
000,  or  nearly  50,000  more  than  Con¬ 
necticut  contains,  in  a  territory  three- 
quarters  that  of  the  state  where  the 
population  is  perhaps  the  most  dense  in 
the  Union. 

Four  hundred  years  of  Spanish  rule 
served  to  make  many  a  fortune  for  Span¬ 
ish  grandees,  but  left  the  natives  in 
great  poverty  and  ignorance. 


early  morning.  Vital  statistics  show  a 
very  favorable  state  as  regards  health¬ 
fulness. 

Education 

According  to  the  reports  of  the  Com¬ 
missioner  of  Education  of  1901,  there 
were  about  25,000  children  in  the  Porto 
Rican  schools  in  1898,  when  the  Ameri¬ 
cans  took  possession.  Of  these  about 
half  were  in  the  public  schools,  and  the 
rest  in  private  or  parochial  schools. 
But  there  are  350,000  children  of  school 
age  on  the  island,  and  eighty  per  cent,  of 


THE  EXECUTIVE  MANSION 


Climate 

The  climate,  with  seven  degrees  of  dif¬ 
ference,  only,  between  winter  and  sum¬ 
mer,  is  almost  a  perpetual  June.  With 
never  a  breath  of  frost,  every  fruit  and 
vegetable  known  to  the  tropics  and  many 
that  are  familiar  to  the  tempyerate  zones 
may  be  grown  in  abundance.  The  prin¬ 
cipal  products  are  sugar,  coffee  and  to¬ 
bacco.  The  mean  temperature  of  the 
winter  months  is  72°,  that  of  the  sum¬ 
mer,  79°.  At  noon  the  thermometer  reg¬ 
isters  about  90°  every  day  in  the  year, 
with  some  65°  to  75°  in  the  night  and 


the  population  could  neither  read  nor 
write  when  the  Americans  came. 

To-day,  after  nine  years  of  American 
possession,  there  are  upward  of  70,000 
children  in  the  public  schools  alone.  And 
beside  the  public  schools  there  are  many 
private  and  parochial  schools,  making 
possibly  an  attendance  of  some  100,000 
out  of  the  350,000  children.  It  is  a  record 
to  cause  some  satisfaction,  but  not  a  de¬ 
gree  of  achievement  to  be  accepted  as  final. 

Government 

Porto  Rico  has  a  government  framed 
under  the  provisions  of  the  Foraker  Bill, 
as  follows:  A  Governor,  appointed  by 

(5) 


the  President  of  the  United  States. 
There  are  six  heads  of  departments,  also 
appointed  by  the  President.  These  are 
Americans,  and  are  as  follows :  Secretaiy, 
Attorney-General,  Treasurer,  Auditor, 
Commissioner  of  the  Interior,  Commis¬ 
sioner  of  Education.  These  six,  to¬ 
gether  with  five  Porto  Ricans  appointed 
by  the  President,  make  up  the  Executive 
Council. 

The  Legislative  Assembly  is  elected 


The  only  qualifications  for  casting  the 
ballot  are  those  which  obtain  in  the 
States,  ability  to  read  and  write,  or  pay¬ 
ment  of  tax. 

The  revenues  of  the  island  are  raised 
by  property  taxation,  and  amount  to 
about  $2,500,000  a  year.  Of  this  sum 
about  half  is  used  for  the  expenses  of 
the  insular  government,  and  the  rest  for 
roads  and  schools.  Municipal  govern¬ 
ment  is  supported  by  its  own  taxes. 


THE  PRINCIPAL  PLAZA,  SAN  JUAN 


by  the  people,  and  is  composed  of  thirty- 
five  members,  five  from  each  of  the  seven 
districts.  A  measure  may  originate  in 
either  house,  the  Executive  Council  or 
the  Legislative  Assembly,  and  must  re¬ 
ceive  the  concurrence  of  the  other  house, 
and  the  signature  of  the  Governor,  in 
order  to  become  a  law.  Either  house 
may  defeat  a  bill,  and  the  Governor  may 
veto  a  bill  that  has  passed  both  houses. 
Every  town  on  the  island  has  its  Mayor, 
or  Alcalde,  and  its  Common  Council  or 
Ayuntamiento.  These  municipal  offi¬ 
cers  are  elected  by  popular  vote. 

(6) 


There  is  free  trade  with  the  United 
States. 

Religion 

Under  Spain,  the  Roman  Catholic  re¬ 
ligion  was  established  as  a  part  of  the 
government,  some  of  the  priests  hold¬ 
ing  government  offices,  and  all  receiving 
State  pay.  In  every  town  there  is  a 
large  parish  church,  the  principal  build¬ 
ing  to  be  seen  as  one  approaches  the 
place.  Under  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  religion  has  no  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  government,  and  many  of 


A  MARKET  IN  PORTO  RICO 


CARNIVAL  TIME 


(7) 


THE  NEW  CHURCH  OP  ST.  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST,  SAN  JUAN 


the  Spanish  priests  left  the  island  Avhen 
the  Americans  came.  Nominally  the  en¬ 
tire  population  is  Roman  Catholic;  but 
as  a  matter  of  fact  great  numbers  of  the 
people  have  no  religion  whatsoever. 
Among  the  more  intelligent  part  of  the 
population  there  is  some  allegiance  to 
the  Roman  Church,  some  bitter  oppo¬ 
sition,  and  much  indifference  and  agnos¬ 
ticism.  Among  the  middle  class,  com¬ 
prising  the  skilled  laborers  and  their 
families,  the  same  is  true,  while  among 
the  lower  and  poorer  classes  the  vast 
majority  are  living  in  practical  heathen¬ 
ism.  They  celebrate  Christmas  and 
Easter,  with  the  most  outlandish  noises, 
and  the  carnival  flourishes  as  a  time  of 
(8) 


frolic  and  frivolity.  Superstitious  cus¬ 
toms  prevail  among  them,  and  proces¬ 
sions  with  wax  images  of  the  Saviour 
and  His  mother  are  common  occurrences. 

The  people  of  the  higher  social  classes 
rarely  go  near  any  mission,  outside  the 
Roman  Church.  The  poorer  people  hear 
us  gladly.  They  will  come  in  great 
numbers  to  hear  anyone  who  can  preach 
to  them  in  their  own  language.  They 
are  eager  to  have  their  children  attend 
our  schools.  We  have  125  pupils  in  the 
San  Juan  schools,  and  are  turning  many 
away  for  lack  of  room.  Never  was  there 
an  opportunity  more  rich  in  its  invita¬ 
tion  and  its  possibilities  than  Porto 
Rico  presents  to-day. 


HEAD  NURSE  AND  STAFF 
OF  NURSES 


INTERIOR  OF  ST.  DUKE  S  CHURCH.  PUERTA  DE  TIERRA 
A  new  and  commodious  building  with  basement  to  accommodate  the  large  school 

is  being  erected  (1907) 


(9) 


(10) 


POUTO  UICAN  HOYS  AND  GIULS 


THE  CLARKE  MEMORIAL  ALTAR,  SAN  JUAN,  P.  R. 


THE  MASSACHUSETTS  LECTURN  AND  FONT,”  SAN  JUAN,  P.  R. 


Obstacles 


Our  Plant 


Difficulties  abound,  however,  as  may 
be  easily  understood  from  what  has  al¬ 
ready  been  said ;  and  there  are  other  dif¬ 
ficulties  beside  those  of  language,  preju¬ 
dice  and  climate.  All  land  in  the  vicin¬ 
ity  of  the  large  cities  is  held  at  a  ficti¬ 
tious  valuation.  Rents  in  most  places 
are  abnormally  high,  and  building 


We  have  thus  the  Church  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist  in  San  Juan,  with  school¬ 
room  in  a  rented  house;  the  Church  of 
the  Holy  Trinity,  Ponce,  with  school, 
parish  hall  and  rectory  on  the  lot  ad¬ 
joining;  the  Church  of  All  Saints,  with 
rectory  and  parish  hall,  on  the  island  of 
Vieques,  off  the  east  coast.  Our  church 


THE  EPISCOPAL  RESIDENCE  NEAR  SAN  JUAN 


material  is  about  double  in  price  what  it 
costs  in  the  States.  Land  and  other 
property  titles  are  in  some  cases  uncer¬ 
tain.  and  where  not  doubtful  it  still  is 
necessary  to  go  through  a  complicated 
and  tedious  process,  involving  consider¬ 
able  expense,  to  secure  a  transfer.  Hot- 
withstanding,  we  have  succeeded  in  ob¬ 
taining  for  our  work  a  clear  title  to  what 
property  we  possess,  and  it  is  all  vested 
in  the  Domestic  and  Porcign  Mission¬ 
ary  Society  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  Lnited  States  of  Ameri¬ 
ca,  as  trustees,  to  hold  for  the  use  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  Porto  Rico  for¬ 
ever. 

(12) 


in  Euerta  de  Tierra,  named  St.  Luke’s, 
will  soon  have  its  own  building.  ITie 
Bishop’s  residence,  six  miles  from  San 
Juan,  has  been  built  and  paid  for  on  a 
two-acre  lot;  the  entire  property,  within 
a  short  distance  from  the  Normal  School, 
having  cost  about  $7,500.  The  episcopal 
residence  has  increased  in  value  as  other 
buildings  have  been  erected  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood,  and  the  grounds  will  provide  a 
place  where  other  Church  institutions 
can  be  placed,  if  the  need  should  arise. 
When  I  became  the  Missionary  Bishop 
of  Porto  Rico,  in  1902,  I  set  about 
raising  $30,000  as  an  Equipment  Fund, 
for  the  purchase  of  property  for 


churclies,  rectories  and  schools.  That 
amount  lias  been  given.  The  Woman’s 
Auxiliary  has  given  me  $3,900  beside. 
I  have  the  above  mentioned  property 
to  show  for  this  money,  all  of  it  free 
from  debt.  But  no  sooner  was  this  ac¬ 
complished  than  I  had  to  turn  my  at¬ 
tention  to  securing  a  Church  Extension 
Fund.  At  least  $25,000  will  be  needed 
for  this.  It  has  now  reached  over 


come  to  the  source  of  supplies  to  obtain 
the  money  required  for  establishing  the 
Church  in  the  land  to  which  he  is  sent 
to  minister.  No  one  need  think  a  bish¬ 
op  enjoys  going  about  with  an  appeal 
constantly  on  his  lips,  for  the  means  his 
work  must  have.  It  is  true  there  are 
many  tokens  of  loving  kindness  and  of 
sympathy  to  make  his  task  less  irksome. 
He  meets  hosts  of  friends,  and  often- 


HOLY  TRINITY  CHURCH,  PONCE,  WAS  THE  OLDEST  NON-ROMAN  CHURCH  BUILDING 

IN  THE  SPANISH  POSSESSIONS 


$10,000.  Our  hospital  has  cost  also  a 
little  over  $20,000.  Our  missions  have 
been  established  in  eight  principal  cen¬ 
tres — in  San  Juan,  Ponce,  La  Carmelita, 
^Nfa.vaguez,  Vieques,  Puerta  de  Tierra, 
Aguas  Buenas,  and  Santurce.  We  ought 
to  begin  work  in  a  number  of  other 
places.  This  means  more  men  and  more 
money.  Other  places  are  waiting  for  us. 

Supplies 

No  one  deplores  the  necessity  more 
than  the  missionary  bishop  himself, 
when  he  is  obliged  to  leave  his  post,  and 


times  the  spirit  of  sacrifice  and  generous 
devotion  to  the  cause  he  has  next  his 
heart  becomes  an  inspiration  to  him,  as 
it  both  produces  and  consecrates  the 
money  contributed  for  his  Avork.  But 
such  appeals  have  to  be  made,  and  there 
seems  to  be  no  other  way  but  for  the 
missionai'y  bishop  to  make  them. 

I  need  the  Church  Extension  Fund. 
Ponce  is  one  of  the  most  important  cities 
on  the  island.  The  hospital  must  he  well 
equipped  to  do  its  work  there.  Our 
school  under  Hiss  Cuddy  has  been  ex¬ 
ceedingly  successful.  In  its  new  quarters 
it  ivs  doing  excellent  work. 


(13) 


Appeal 

The  church  in  Ponce  has  recently  been 
photographed  with  its  decorations  for 
Easter.  Looking  at  this  fair  picture, 
one  might  be  pardoned  for  thinking 
there  was  no  need  of  a  new  building. 
But  if  the  kind  reader  will  look  closely, 
he  will  see  two  iron  rods  running 
through  the  church.  What  are  they 
there  for?  They  tell  why  I  am  asking 
for  a  new  church.  If  they  were  not 
there,  the  church  would  fall  down.  The 
building  is  of  wood,  with  iron  sheathing. 


Church  has  erected  her  splendid  temples, 
it  will  never  impress  the  people  with  the 
fact  that  we  have  a  better  and  a  purer 
conception  of  the  Church  to  give  them, 
if  we  build  poor  little  temporary  struc¬ 
tures.  Methodists,  Presbyterians  and 
Congregationalists  perceive  this,  and 
they  are  building  worthy  edifices,  and 
spending  far  more  money  in  their  work 
than  we  are  in  ours.  The  wisdom  of  a 
generous  policy  in  the  mission  field  is 
nowhere  more  apparent  than  in  these 
new  possessions,  where  it  might  be  said, 
if  we  were  not  there  to  make  it  impos- 


THE  INTERIOR  OF  HOLY  TRINITY,  DECORATED  FOR  EASTER  DAY 


and  it  has  stood  thirty-four  years.  It  is 
so  badly  out  of  the  perpendicular,  in 
places,  as  to  be  hardly  safe,  and  it  would 
cost  more  than  the  building  is  worth  to 
stop  the  leaks.  And  that  is  your 
church,  my  dear  fellow-Christian — 
yours,  because  it  belongs  to  your 
brothers  and  sisters  in  Ponce,  who  are 
not  able  to  build  a  new’  one.  Through 
me.  they  ask  your  help.  It  might  an¬ 
swer  to  build  a  less  expensive  church 
than  the  plans  I  have  in  mind,  but  it 
would  be  poor  economy,  and  worse  pol¬ 
icy.  In  that  land,  wdiere  the  Roman 
(14) 


sible,  that  in  exchanging  Spain  for  the 
United  States,  a  religious  master,  though 
a  tyrant,  had  been  exchanged  for  a  gov¬ 
ernment  that  had  no  religion.  In  other 
words,  it  is  given  to  you  and  to  me  to 
bear  witness  to  the  people  of  Porto 
Rico  that  Christ  is  supreme  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  that  we 
mean  it  when  w’e  say  we  believe  in  the 
Holy  Catholic  Church;  that  we  but 
speak  the  truth  when  we  tune  our  Te 
Deum  and  sing  to  Cod.  saying,  “The 
Holy  Church  throughout  all  the  w’orld 
(loth  acknowledge  Thee.” 


THE  RIC4HT  REVEREND  JAMES  HEARTT  VAN  BUREN,  S.T.D., 
BISHOP  OF  PORTO  RICO 

CONSEC'KATKl),  JUNE  24TH.  1902 


Some  Immediate  Needs 

1.  Three  more  clergy,  Spanish  speaking. 

2.  Two  itinerant  missionaries. 

3.  Two  teachers. 

4.  Fifteen  thousand  dollars,  to  complete  the  Exten¬ 
sion  Fund,  with  which  to  build  a  church  at  Ponce,  and 
open  new  missions  in  places  that  have  asked  for  them. 

5.  A  rectory  at  San  Juan. 

6.  Six  thousand  dollars  to  complete  the  equipment 
of  the  Hospital. 


Some  Porto  Rico  Facts 

Porto  Rico,  1,380  miles  south  by  east  from  New 
York,  has  a  million  inhabitants,  in  an  area  of  3,600  square 
miles. 

It  was  made  a  missionary  district  by  the  General  Con¬ 
vention  of  1901. 

James  H.  \^an  Buren  was  consecrated  first  Bishop  of 
Porto  Rico,  June  24th,  1902. 

^Missions  have  been  established  at  San  Juan,  Ponce, 
Puerta  de  Tierra  (a  suburb  of  San  Juan),  Mayaguez,  La 
Carmelita,  Aguas  Buenas,  Santurce  and  Vieques.  Schools 
have  been  opened  at  five  of  these  places. 

A  new  church  building  has  been  erected  at  San  Juan, 
a  rectory  bought,  school  and  parish  house  built  at 
Ponce,  a  church  opened  in  a  rented  house  at  Puerta  de 
Tierra,  and  an  episcopal  residence  erected  in  the  suburbs 
of  San  Juan.  A  new  church  building  is  being  erected  at 
Puerta  de  Tierra,  and  a  rectory  and  parish  hall  have  been 
built  at  Vieques.  A  mission  has  also  been  established 
at  Aguas  Buenas  and  another  at  Santurce,  both  in  rented 
buildings. 


/iTOPIES  of  this  Leaflet  may  be  had, 
without  cost,  from  the  Cor¬ 
responding  S  E  C  R  E  T  A  R  Y,  281 
Fourth  Avenue,  New  York,  by  asking 
for  Leaflet  No.  503  ^  ^  ^ 

^  Contributions  should  be  sent  to  M  r  . 
George  C.  Thomas,  Treasurer, 
281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York.  ^ 


